Maskcara Review: Is it really that easy?

Anyone who knows me knows I am not a makeup person. My ability to apply makeup leaves much to be desired. I put the bare minimum on to not look like part of the cast for the Walking Dead. Once in a while, when I get a little too big for my britches, I like to believe that all those YouTube tutorials have somehow magically made me a professional makeup artist and I try to apply eye shadow. Ah, eye shadow, you are my Kryptonite! There is absolutely not one time that I’ve tried to apply any eye shadow and didn’t end up looking like a hooker clown. True story. So to say my makeup application skills is at novice level is an understatement. I know preteens who are better than I am. Don’t get me started on the fact that I cannot contour or highlight, it’s just not something I can do without turning into a said “hooker clown”.

Because of my limited abilities, I tend to go for the “down and dirty” route of makeup. I don’t need alot of frills, just cover my imperfections up and make me look less like a Mombie and I’ll thank you for it. Plus, I don’t love heavy makeup but I do want enough coverage to cover my dark circles and not have to worry about them all day. I find that Korean/Asian makeup and skincare routine works wonders on me and my dry skin. My obsession with Korean Cushions is pretty well known (I’ll be doing a review of the different ones I’ve tried soon!) amongst my friends. I tend to try a bunch and report back because it seems most of the reviews out there are being done by young women who aren’t battling time, wrinkles, child induced eye bags etc. Since I like to try new things to try and minimize my day to day routine, my friends who sell Maskcara were wanting me to give it a try. So I figured, why not?

****My first set of Maskcara IIID foundation was gifted to me during a gift exchange. But since then I have bought 2 more sets, this isn’t a sponsored review****

The original colors that my friend sent to me were too light for me. They were better for someone with fair skin. I’m a medium to medium fair (in the winter) with minimal red undertones (I used to have more reds but I feel like the skincare routine I’ve adapted has really toned that down). Like I said, my skin tends to be dry, but with the Korean skincare routine that I have been doing for the past year, that hasn’t been as big of an issue this winter. But the cream 3D foundation does apply really well onto my skin. This is the HAC compact I received the second go around, after I returned the first set of colors for the correct shade: Stone (contour), Sunlit (highlight), Dahlia (lip+blush), and the illuminator. Sorry, I dirtied the illuminator with the contour color before I snapped the picture but it’s pure white when brand new.

What is HAC? It stands for Highlighting and Contour. It’s used to enhance your natural features and hide any imperfections by using how light reflects off your face. Here’s the guide to where to put things. I really studied this and steeled myself to try it the first time. Again, when it comes to make up, no matter how “fool-proof” I can always find a way to mess it up. So I just wasn’t sure with all these colors and instructions I could make it look natural. The fact that I have made many easy makeup techniques look like stage makeup done for the circus, it’s a gift. And it makes me gun shy at putting so much on my face all at one time.

And here’s what it looked like after I was done:

It turned out better than I expected! The picture on the right is after applying more blush and a little bit more contour because my friend told me I needed more. It did feel like I had more makeup on than usual, but Maskcara feels heavier than Korean Cushions, it’s just the nature of the beast. Here’s the final look with Lipsense, in Pink Heart.

Pros:

Not drying, seemed moisturizing

No creeping or settling into fine lines

Relatively easy to apply and blend out as long as you aren’t heavy handed

Lot of color options to better match your skin tone

Once you understand where everything goes and how much to put on you can do your foundation in about 10 minutes

Pretty affordable at $56 for a pre-filled palette or $14 each tin

Palettes are magnetic and you can change out the tins pretty easily to fit the seasons or colors that you use.

Cons:

The brushes are pretty pricey and not included, not even the HAC brush

You can easily get too much product on your face and turn into a clown

There is no SPF in the product, but I wear additional sunscreen

The colors are sometimes hard to get out of the tins so it’s easiest to get them out with your fingers instead of the HAC brush, but then you end up with dirty hands.

It’s hard to pick colors from their website since most don’t have descriptions or examples of it on someone.

Coverage is light and not build-able

They recently increase the pricing of the tins from $12 to $14

Overall impression: pretty easy to use, but, I can see how it could be really easy to get carried away and look ridiculous. I did watch a lot of YouTube videos beforehand so I knew what I was getting myself into. For makeup novices, it’s hard for us to know how much to apply and how much blending is needed. For some people that might not be within their comfort level or skill set to be able to determine that. It felt moisturizing on my dry skin but as someone with “aging skin”, I don’t wear anything without SPF and it would have been nice if that was included. I didn’t see any creeping or settling into my fine lines (which would suck because I don’t have my 20 something skin anymore) but at the same time, coverage is not build-able so hiding imperfections require the use of other products. In my case I use Tarte’s Shape Tape in Light-Medium and also Becca’s Under Eye Brightening corrector. I am also not a big of the dewy look so I finish and set everything with Bare Minerals Mineral Veil. I would love to see examples of people wearing the different contours and highlights on their website to help me pick my colors, though they do offer a consultation via email. Also descriptions along with photos of people wearing the different colors would be a great help. Grade: A-

I did enjoy Maskcara’s IIID Foundation enough to buy a “double decker”. I bought a set that was a shade lighter and a set that is a shade darker for the summer. This cost $120.96 for these 8 in this palette (colors are: Top–Olive, Aura, Frenchie, Honey; Bottom: Ash, Amber, Hollywood, and Rose Gold) . I haven’t ventured into the eye shadows, and I highly doubt I ever will since I’m pretty traumatized by shadows.

Let me know what you think and what you would like me to review!

*I do not sell these products but if you’re looking for a rep, I can recommend a few friends that do sellMaskcara.*